Jane Hunt MP asked:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps her Department is taking to (a) review and (b) reduce the backlog of cases in Leicestershire awaiting assessment by the CPS for more than 28 days.
The Rt Hon. Michael Ellis MP, Solicitor General, responded:
The Government is committed to swifter justice.
In Leicestershire during 2019, the average number of calendar days between first submission of a case to the last decision made to charge was under 26 days. This includes cases where the police were required to submit further evidence prior to a decision to charge.
The senior management of CPS East Midlands meet weekly to consider cases awaiting charge, prioritising the most sensitive and serious cases and ensuring Prosecutors have sufficient capacity to provide charging advice to police on a daily basis. At weekends, CPS Direct support CPS East Midlands by providing charging advice. Furthermore, Crown Advocates can be diverted from other work to complete charging cases as required.
The national CPS recruitment campaign will increase prosecutorial capacity significantly. .
Work with the police to improve police file quality is ongoing, with the aim of reducing the number of submissions rejected at basic administrative triage and requiring action plans.
